A Knight in Central Park(81)
Joe smiled. “Love? No,” he said. “We’re as different as two people could ever be. Let’s just say I like her very much.”
“That the two of you are different...what might that have to do with how you feel about her?”
“Everything,” Joe said, the muscles in his jaw tightening. “Absolutely everything.”
Joe made his way to the horses. Sebastiano followed, like a leach sucking the very blood from Joe’s veins.
Precious had both ears back, ready to bite one of the other horses if they so much as looked his way. Joe stroked the animal’s neck and let the horse lick the salt from his palm.
“So,” Sebastiano said, “you are traipsing across the countryside, helping a maiden in distress for no other reason, but to fill your day?”
Joe looked at Sebastiano. “Next, you’re going to tell me that although the Black Knight has a heart as dark and lonely as an empty cave, he spends his free time saving women who are in dire need of his aid.”
Sebastiano raised a brow. “For one who has never met the man and claims he does not exist, you know him well. But ’Tis not just any fair maiden he helps, only the beautiful virginal ones.”
Joe felt a headache coming on. “I made her a promise.” Joe pulled a piece of crumpled paper from his pocket, counted the lines he’d made for each day that passed. He had less than two weeks left. “And I’m running out of time.”
“Perhaps if I help you,” Sebastiano said, “you will agree to help me in return.”
For the next few minutes, Sebastiano revealed how he knew King Henry’s life was in danger. Apparently, Sebastiano himself had been hired to warn the king of danger. “If the message sent to Windsor is but the truth,” Sebastiano said, “then the king’s ruination is to take place within the week. It appears King Henry has taken a different route from the one his advisors had mapped out. Thus my frustrations have grown from not knowing where the king would be on any given day. But if that man I released speaks the truth, then I have only to get to Radmore’s Keep and await there.”
Sebastiano wasn’t just any ordinary fair-haired boy wandering the countryside, Joe quickly realized, but one of many young men sent out to gather information, find the king, and warn him of impending danger. Sebastiano, it turned out, had been following George and Udolf prior to their taking Alexandra and Garrett from the inn and had every intention of keeping at their heels. That is, until the wine had put him to sleep.
Joe’s tone grew serious. “I appreciate everything you’ve done, and I understand the seriousness of your mission, but I can’t help you. I am working on a deadline myself.” Joe sighed, having no desire to explain his crazy situation. “You’re welcome to come with us or take one of the horse’s left behind by the men you’re after.”
Sebastiano appeared thoughtful. “Susan told me of your plans to liberate her sister from Radmore’s Keep.”
Joe nodded.
“You are only but a day’s ride from there. It appears we are headed in the same direction. Last night whilst I followed your trail, I had much time to contemplate how you might gain access into Sir Richard’s keep. I have a plan.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
There is only one happiness in life, to love and be loved.
—George Sand
Alexandra filed through the dimly lit corridors, trying to keep up with the musicians carrying lutes and horns. Sebastiano had been elated to learn that the King of England had only just arrived. Sebastiano had sprung into action and convinced the man in charge of entertainment that he and his entourage were a well-known traveling act, and in letting their small group join them, they would surely be swamped with engagements thereafter.
Worry gnawed at Alexandra’s bones, afraid they might be found out and thrown in the dungeons along with her sister. Alexandra let the musicians pass her by as she wondered what was keeping the others. Her heart raced. If they were caught, all would be lost. The four of them, Joe, Garrett, Sebastiano, and Alexandra, were to meet at the stage entrance. While she waited, she admired the many wall hangings and elaborate decorations; tapestries rich in color and detailed with images of biblical stories and lush landscapes. Large bouquets of white and wine colored roses with sprigs of heather had been carefully placed in iron wall vases.
In all her life, she’d never seen such splendor. She could only pray that such a well-kept castle meant that her sister had been treated with the same care. The sudden quiet alerted her to the fact that the musicians she’d been following had all but disappeared.